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So, who’s left to coach the Browns?


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It's likely to be McDaniels

Josh McDaniels and wife, Laura, arrive for Cleveland Browns interview

On Friday morning, Josh McDaniels and his wife, Laura, arrived in Berea for his interview with the Cleveland Browns.
 
Author: Ben Axelrod
Published: 10:35 AM EST January 10, 2020
Updated: 11:03 AM EST January 10, 2020

BEREA, Ohio — On Friday, the Cleveland Browns will hold their final -- and perhaps most highly anticipated -- interview for their head coaching vacancy. Just before 10:00 a.m., Josh McDaniels and his wife, Laura, arrived in Berea, where the current New England Patriots offensive coordinator will interview with his hometown team.

As noted by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Laura's presence alongside her husband could signal that a big decision for both McDaniels and the Browns is coming -- perhaps by the end of the day.

A native of Canton, the 43-year-old McDaniels has been heavily linked to a return to Northeast Ohio since the Browns fired Freddie Kitchens following their 6-10 season in 2019. While he had also been linked to the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants' head coaching jobs, both of those vacancies were filled before McDaniels even interviewed.

Following eight seasons as an assistant with the Patriots, four of which he spent as the team's offensive coordinator, McDaniels was hired as the Denver Broncos head coach in 2009. He was fired by the Broncos, however, after amassing an 11-17 record over the course of two seasons.

In 2012, McDaniels returned to New England as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In the past eight seasons with the Patriots, he has been a part of eight Super Bowl titles.

In addition to McDaniels, the Browns have also interviewed former Green Bay Packers head coach (and new Dallas Cowboys head coach) Mike McCarthy, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski for their head coaching job.

 

Report: Josh McDaniels preferred Browns job over Panthers and Giants openings

According to WEEI's Courtney Fallon, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels entered the offseason with the Browns' opening as his top choice
 
Author: Ben Axelrod
Published: 9:38 PM EST January 8, 2020
Updated: 9:53 PM EST January 8, 2020

On Tuesday, the Carolina Panthers shocked the football world when they hired Baylor coach Matt Rhule despite having an interview scheduled for later in the day with Josh McDaniels.

According to WEEI's Courtney Fallon, there's a reason why the Panthers never got around to their meeting with the New England Patriots offensive coordinator.

Elaborating on a tweet that claimed there was a "50/50 chance" that McDaniels remains in New England, Fallon explained that if the McDaniels doesn't wind up in Cleveland, it won't be because he didn't want the job. In fact, per Fallon, the Canton native entered the offseason with the Browns' head coaching job as his top choice -- and it was that information that caused Panthers owner David Tepper to act quickly on hiring Rhule.

 "What I've been told is Josh McDaniels was David Tepper's No. 1 head coaching choice hands down for the Carolina Panthers. The Carolina Panthers were not Josh McDaniels' No. 1 choice. They weren't even his No. 2 choice," Fallon said on her podcast, The Courtney Fallon Experience. "Cleveland was his No. 1 choice. He was comfortable with Cleveland, he was comfortable with the Patriots. I'm not sure where the lines got crossed here that David Tepper found out that Josh wanted Cleveland."

 

#Panthers hire of Matt Rhule surprised everyone yesterday, but he was never their No. 1 target.

Josh McDaniels was.

I explained on the #CourtneyFallonExperience podcast for @WEEI:

 
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Despite Fallon's report, there's no guarantee that McDaniels will land in Cleveland or that the Browns will even offer the John Carroll graduate the job. It does, however, quell speculation that McDaniels would be skeptical of coaching the Browns due to the unstable nature of the franchise under owner Jimmy Haslam.

It's also worth noting that McDaniels has competition for Cleveland's head coaching job, which is the only one still open in the NFL. On Wednesday, Cleveland interviewed Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz for its head-coaching vacancy and an interview with Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski is scheduled for Thursday.

McDaniels, meanwhile, will reportedly interview for the Browns' job on Friday, with a decision on who will succeed Freddie Kitchens in Cleveland expected not long after that.

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